Vijnana Bhairava Tantra- Part 20

Monday, September 03, 2012

Vijnana Bhairava Tantra PART 19: VERSE 77

Vijnana Bhairava Tantra VERSE 77: SKILL 54

(Further discussion on verse 77)

At the time of spontaneous perception of the universe through these five mudras - karaṅkiṇi, krodhanā, bhairavī, lelihānā and khecarī (करङ्किणि, क्रोधना, भैरवी, लेलिहाना and खेचरी) Supreme Consciousness is revealed.

During meditation, when these five mudras are used, one understands the pervasion of the Self in the form of the universe. In other words, he understands the omnipresence nature of Śiva, the Supreme Consciousness. Mudras are generally used to activate a particular part of the body and to increase the psychic energy and to eliminate the excess energy generated in the body. Excessive psychic energy leads to blockades and needs to be grounded, i.e. passed on to the Mother Earth. Instead, this energy can also be used to heal others also. It is difficult to find people with higher energy levels and they should not waste their energy and use their divine energy to heal others.

Karaṅkiṇi mudra is viewing the universe as a skeleton (karaṅka means skeleton). This mudra is only a perception and is related to the higher levels of spiritual knowledge. The Yogī looks at the universe as something that is dissolved into ākāśa, where alone there is stillness. Nothing moves in the ākāśa. When the Yogī looks at the universe as a skeleton, he looks at the cause of the universe, the Supreme Consciousness. It is like our skeletal bodies forming the basis of our shapes and forms. Without the skeletal body, muscles and nerves alone cannot fully form a body. Further, when the Yogī looks at the universe as skeleton, he becomes devoid of attachments and desires, as one cannot develop attachment to a skeleton. This is known as the source of knowledge, because the Yogī looks for the cause than the effect. This is the spiritual spiritual knowledge.

Krodhanā mudra is releasing muscular and nervous tensions from the body. In this mudra, facial muscles are contracted, mouth and eyes are wide open and he fixes his awareness on the mantra he recites. In that mantra, Śiva reveals Himself to him. Only those Yogī-s, who have attained mantra siddhi can use this mudra. Krodha means anger and in the present context it is not used to mean anger, but refers to the mystical mantra. It can be inferred that the mantra is OM.

Bhairavī mudra is where one keeps his eyes wide open without blinking and looks externally, but his consciousness is fixed internally. He has to fix his breathing on the point where he fixes his consciousness within. Fixing breath on any part of the body is possible by synchronizing breath and concentration on the same place. Breath cannot get fixed on a particular place, but this has to be visualized, as practiced in kuṇḍalinī meditation. The bhairavī mudra discussed here is not related to the one discussed in Hatha Yoga, which is about the placement of palms. Here, it is about fixing consciousness within, though he looks at the external world through his sensory organs. This is one of the mudras that can lead to trance.

Lelihānā mudra is where the Yogī considers universal consciousness as his own consciousness, where all dualities are dissolved.

Khecarī mudra is considered as one of the important mudras. It is derived from the world khecara meaning roaming in the sky. What is described here is the same as explained in Hatha Yoga (III. 36 - 54), turning the tongue backwards and placing it on the upper palette. The one who has attained perfection will not have disease and he is freed from hunger, thirst, etc. When this is perfected in the proper way, (pushing the tongue and touching the hanging soft palette is the ultimate perfection) spirituous liquor is secreted and on processing it at the throat chakra, gives a disease free life. It also activates ājñāchakra and back head cakra and in the process activates the pineal gland, the gland of divinity. This also helps in activating the sahasrāra. The only deterrent factor of this mudra is the amount of heat it generates in the body during practice. One has to consciously make efforts to reduce this heat by consuming a lot of water, milk, curd, fresh fruits and vegetables. This mudra is highly helpful in making the kuṇḍalinī ascend towards ājñāchakra and above. The secretion of ambrosia, having the consistency of honey and drifting into the throat can be realized distinctly. By practice, one can collect this ambrosia in the throat chakra, which stores and distributes this nectar appropriately to the body system. If it enters the digestive system, the ambrosia will not be of any use and will be simply wasted. While healing others, one has to necessarily keep his/her tongue in khecarī mudra, which causes the generation of powerful prānic energy.

!5 minutes is on the higher side. However, it depends upon your other practices. You should be able to lose your consciousness (unconscious state or trance) and enter into the state of samadhi. It is not only the time, that alone matters, but also the effect of our practice. Five minutes is good enough to trigger a good trance.